Stephanie Williams, the UN Special Adviser on Libya, met on Saturday with head of the Supreme Council of State, Khaled Al-Mishri, in Istanbul, Turkey, and called for a meeting with Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, in order to reach a quick consensus to resolve differences between conflicting Libyan parties.
Williams revealed some of the topics she discussed with Al-Mishri, including: “condemning the terrible violence that broke out overnight in Tripoli, which led to the death of a number of civilians and injured others, including children,” according to a statement on Saturday.
She stressed the need for both the Supreme Council of State and the House of Representatives to complete their joint work related to the preparation of the constitutional framework necessary for national elections urgently.
The UN adviser added that Al-Mishri briefed her on the discussions that took place within the Council on addressing controversial points related to dual citizenship for presidential candidates, as well as amendments to the 2017 draft constitution agreed with the House of Representatives.
She stressed the need to reach a quick consensus between Al-Mishri and Aqeela Saleh on the constitutional track, which she described as “a sensitive issue, in order to meet the aspirations of nearly 3 million Libyans who registered to vote.”
She said Saleh gave a letter to Al-Mashari about appointments to sovereign positions, especially those related to finance, oversight and accountability. Al-Mashri agreed on “the need to discuss these matters as part of a single package, the most prominent of which is returning the country to a firm path leading to elections based on a constitutional framework,” she said.
The meeting also addressed the crisis of the management of the National Oil Corporation. Williams stressed the need to protect the independence of sovereign institutions and their technical nature, noting that measures of this kind should preferably be taken by an elected, unified, sovereign and popular executive body.
